Cheeky online reviews spark a sales boom for banana slicer

Every weekday, PR Daily associate editor Alan Pearcy highlights the day’s most compelling stories and amusing marginalia on the Web in this, #TheDailySpin.

“This sh** is bananas—B-A-N-A-N-A-S.” You can say that again, Gwen Stefani, the front woman of No Doubt to whom I owe thanks for forever changing the manner in which I say and spell said word. The maker of the Hutzler 571 Banana Slicer, on the other hand, owes its gratitude to the heap of Amazon users leaving sarcastic customer reviews on the product’s order page (2,014 reviews at last count). This feedback—including the slicer’s most popular appraisal—has led to the sort of influx in sales that Tony Little only dreams about. (via Adweek)

The sales of one shirt at Forever 21 may take a hit after blogger Mary Youmans alleged that the retailer lifted the work of art student Kelly Bastow (a.k.a. moosekleenex) without permission or compensation for one of its T-shirts.

Stealing intellectual property is poor taste, but it’s not nearly as tasteless as the billboards crafted for kiwi beer brand Tui. BuzzFeed pays homage to the mutually offensive brew with a collection of its best outdoor advertising, which take on Christians, women, the Japanese, Lance Armstrong, and more.

After advertising “spokesduck” Aflac was seemingly injured in the insurance company’s latest TV promo, fans and viewers were encouraged to use an online card generator to send the brand mascot their well wishes. According to Clickz, the campaign spurred more than 4,050 cards in the first two and a half days, along with countless more well wishes shared on Twitter and Facebook, where a photo of Aflac’s hospital bracelet was posted.

Whereas Aflac searched high and low before selecting a new voice for the brand in April 2011—following Gilbert Gottfried’s firing—Kraft Macaroni & Cheese lucked out with the chance discovery of Ted Williams, the homeless man with the “golden voice.” Eventually, the two went their separate ways, but that hasn’t stopped Williams from taking full advantage of his second chance at life. In fact, now he’s paying it forward in hopes that others have the same opportunity. The Huffington Post reports that Williams has launched his own nonprofit initiative directed at supporting various homeless communities in need.

Speaking of Kraft, the company is getting a “high-five” from farmers and dairy cows, alike. After last summer’s severe draught drove corn prices sky-high, dairy farmers have fed their herds with sweet treats such as chocolate, sprinkles, gummy worms, and yes, even stale Oreo cookies. Wired explains.

High-fives were just one of the many random acts of kindness collected in a new project from Coca-Cola. Developed by Ogilvy Brazil and Smuggler, the feel-good effort aims to inspire others to go crazy doing good. (via Creativity)

Coca-Cola is also nabbing headlines for its take on obesity. Reports Advertising Age, Coke is addressing the issue head on with two new spots. “It's the first time we're really leaning into the conversation," said Diana Garza Ciarlante, a spokeswoman for the company.

It was a paid ad touting the accomplishments of Scientology and church leader David Miscavige that The Atlantic pulled from its website after receiving flak over the sponsored content.

Meanwhile, Helsingin Sanomat, Scandinavia’s largest newspaper, demonstrated the power of concrete journalism with the creation of an “Emotion Cube,” a large block measuring 13 feet high that glows different colors based on readers’ reactions to particular stories from the paper.

We started today with a lesson in spelling. Of course, good pronunciation is also quite important. That’s why I’m thrilled to leave you with the first installment of the “Agency Pronunciation Guide,” a stupid, yet humorously helpful tutorial from British creative team Rob Donaldson and Joe Dennett on how to correctly say the names of various agencies.

Is there something you think we should include in our next edition of #TheDailySpin? Tweet me @iquotesometimes with your suggestions. Thanks in advance.